willow───james potter

06 | jade

MAYBE IT WOULD be better if she just disappeared. It was a thought Isla romanticised often, this idea that flickered back and forth within the walls of her brain, because how could she not? She'd already lost herself between shades of night and depths of dreams. This would be no different.

Tuesday morning saw Isla hurrying down the stairs, mind reeling with flashes of light and disjointed syllables pounding at her memory. Almost absent mindedly, her gaze skimmed the common room, looking, or maybe hoping, for it to collide with amber eyes and tousled black hair, but there was no sign of James as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

'He's not here, gorgeous.'

Her head swung around to collide with the silvery eyes of Sirius, a look of knowing arrogance lining the stars in his irises. 'Who?'

'James. He's in the Hospital Wing.'

A twist of anxiety lined her throat, immediately followed by a touch of irritation, because whatever idiotic activities James Potter was doing were none of her concern. 'What - why?'

'Him and Moony had a bit of a mixup last night,' Sirius said smoothly. 'Nothing to worry about, just Marauder things.'

Irritation flared underneath her skin, blood flowing to the tops of her cheekbones. 'You guys are idiots.'

'And you're charming,' he responded brazenly. 'Come on, let's go to Transfiguration.'

The rest of the day passed by in a dull, mellowed haze. Deprived of James' dependable arrogance and consistent pestering, Isla's classes were almost too quiet. Although she'd never admit it to anyone, she was slightly relieved to see both James and Remus looking relatively unscathed at dinner that night.

'Oh, good,' she said briskly, sliding into the seat across from them. 'I was worried Gryffindor wouldn't have a Chaser for the upcoming match - now I just have to worry about not having a competent one.'

He grinned, the expression molten around the edges, something amused and glinting as he met her gaze. 'Oh, Vix, you're so adorable when you use humour to try and hide your true feelings for me.'

She stabbed her food with her fork, gaze lingering on a flowering pattern of lavender bruises and short scratches spiralling over his forearm. 'What were you doing?'

He glanced briefly towards Remus, who was determinedly not joining the conversation, and instead looked rather ill. 'Marauders things.'

'That's what Sirius said too, but -'

'Hey, Isla,' James interrupted. 'You keep your secrets, okay, and I keep mine.'

He grinned, and she could sense a haze of devilish impurity, a jaded mystery. She didn't even realise her expression had turned sour until he reached over and flicked her forehead, smiling slyly as she yelped and jumped back.

'Don't think too hard, Vix, or else your head will start hurting.'

She glowered at him.

-

In the library, there was a thin film of restlessness; knees jerked against tables, fingers shuffled between papers, and murmurs funnelled into a soft cacophony of background volume. Settled towards the back left corner, Isla was fortunate enough to have a table to herself and Remus, who, she was pleased to find, didn't ask many questions about the research she was conducting.

He frowned and reached for his copy of Advanced Potion Making, doing his best to straighten out the semi-permanent creases on the pages. 'Isla - you did it again.'